[94'968]

sorry if this is not posted under the right section, was not exactly sure where the best place to post this was.



I am in the middle of doing a rebuild on my motor and printed out the cam tools. thought i would share.



first piece is to pressurize the variocam unit, seals up great at the base. looks like it will work as planned.



second piece is the rough cam timing tool. i have the pdf version of the service manual which apparently has scaled down the size of the pages so the tool in the pic is something like 15% too small. i found the right specs for the tool and it's printing right now.



bringing the ol' 968 into the modern age with a little 3d printing!

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[unknown4u]

Great to see. I have a makerbot printer what does the printing for me. But I have never thought about printing this parts. Great idea.

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[94'968]

cool! yea i have a makerbot replicator 2x (which is what printed these)

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[Bulti]

Impressive, what a great invention that 3D printing is, the possibilities are nearly limitless. You print me a pair of new hinges for my glove box and I'm really, really impressed!

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[Gotter]

...or a cupholder....

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[94SilverCab]

Joel,



I'm really impressed to see that you've stayed with the 968 and that you are now making things to make 968s better. Shoot me an e-mail some time and let me know what you are up to workwise.



Jay

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[Cloud9...68]

Can one of these print a brand new, 0 mile, complete 968? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[94SilverCab]

[quote name='Cloud9...68' timestamp='1393358697' post='155524']

Can one of these print a brand new, 0 mile, complete 968? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

[/quote]



Probably, if you had a few million $$$



Jay

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[EEZATOY]

Ok curious mind(s) would like to know - how big(size) a part can you create...and what kind of a file do you need to print from...3d scan or did you just build it from simple dimensions?



Thanks Sam

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[unknown4u]

Take a look at makerbot.com. sizes are [9.9 x 7.8 x 5.9 in] 7,522 cubic centimeters or [456 cubic inches]

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='unknown4u' timestamp='1396041686' post='156357']

Take a look at makerbot.com. sizes are [9.9 x 7.8 x 5.9 in] 7,522 cubic centimeters or [456 cubic inches]

[/quote]

That covers the first part of unknown4u's question - but what about the method used to input the information as to the dimensions and shape of the part to the printer?

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[94'968]

i draw everything on solidworks, the 3d printers need an STL file (file type that converts a 3d object into a series of polygons). usually that is a file type choice when you go to save the file. you then need to run the file through an STL scrubber, just program that cleans up the file. i found that the printers view overlapping lines as nothing, so you'll end up with voids in the part, and the scrubber fixes those overlaps.



i also have a 3d scanner, honestly it does not work that well. so i just draw everything by hand.

any type of 3d drawing file can easliy be converted to an STL file, just the same as changing a .doc to a .pdf or something like that.

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[Gotter]

...is someone thinking of making their own speedo gears?



I could use a cup holder...

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[JTP]

How durable are these printed/replicated parts?

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[94'968]

you can print with different "fill" rates, which is basically how densely it fills the part with plastic. the higher the fill the stronger it will be. i print with PLA and ABS. they have slightly different characteristics, with ABS being the stronger of the two.



as for a strength reference, think about a piece of PVC pipe, and ABS is tougher and more rigid than that.

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[968TDG]

We have a couple of dimension printers at Hobie Cat with a build space of 10x10x14. They have totally changed our products. It allows us to go through an iterative design process with physical parts to use and hold. Saves us a lot of money in tool revisions, and the end product is always a lot better.



Printing the odometer gear wouldn't be a good match for this type of 3d printer, which is the same technology as the maker bot. It's not as good with really fine resolution (really small parts). It's also not as strong as the base material that is being printed. I'd say it's 50-75% as strong as solid ABS. The machine prints in very thing layers, and if the force on the part is trying to pull these layers apart it is even weaker in this direction. There are other 3d printing technologies that do make higher resolution parts with better physical properties.



What this technology is perfect for is making hollow parts (there is a thin lattice structure printed in the center to make it stiff and to support itself during the printing process, but the parts are VERY light). Then you can cover them in glass or carbon and you end up with a part that's exactly the shape you want, and it very light and strong. This is what we do when we are printing parts that will be injection molded in production to bring them up to strength, but in most cases we print these parts solid to get as much strength as possible.



Joel, I'd love to get those STL files from you for when I get around to doing more invasive engine work.



Cheers

Phil

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[unknown4u]

great explanation. I strugle many times with the fill-rate and also with the temparature that I should use. any suggestions for me? I usualy have the platform heated to 115 degrees and the extruder to a 235 degrees. What do you guys use for temp for abs? so it does not crimp or gives your print the look from a pancake?

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